Cloning and Genetical Enginering - If it Aint Broke, Why Fix it? :: Argumentative Persuasive Argument Essays

Cloning and Genetical Enginering - If it Ain't Broke, Why Fix it? Taking a Pro or Con stand on cloning is difficult, because we know very little about genes, and there are different genetic sciences involved. We must, as Socrates so sagaciously points out, define the subject. Only then can we debate it. There is obviously the full-bore version of cloning, being the complete duplication of an existing life-form, be it plant, animal, or human. (I separate animal and human purely for logistics.) We copy Sheep A's genes, strand by strand, and produce an exact duplicate. Meet Sheep B, C and D. Then, there is gene therapy, which is not cloning proper, but genetics nevertheless, and therefore, worth mentioning. Gene therapy is the process of splicing out malevolent genes, like cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, and physical deformations. There is also the dangerous gene mutation: Rearranging D.N.A. in the hopes of discovering how genes work, and hopefully, producing new wonders of plant, animal, and human life. Essentially playing cards with God, vainly hoping He'll fold. All these possibilities are difficult to discuss, for they are fledgling sciences. We know very little of genes or D.N.A., which was only discovered in1951 by Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins using X-ray diffraction. Realizing my relative lack of knowledge concerning this subject, and realizing there are probably numerous, and very wise, arguments refuting mine, I shall, nevertheless, make my stand: The pseudo-science of gene mutation is, at best, a risky experiment. To casually rearrange a thousand genes, as if building a new house of Legos, is exceedingly dangerous. We have only cataloged a few genes. We do not know if the order is important. And just as the child attempts a castle with his Legos, and ends up with a blue house with two chimneys, we end up with an abomination. Let us stick to Tinker-toys, shall we? Besides, mutations, by definition, are mistakes in the architectural blue-prints of life. Although evolution is made possible by mutations, these mutations are slight and minor ones. One gene is dropped, tweaked, or duplicated. But the thousand remaining genes are untouched, in the same intangible, enigmatic, but important, order. This, combined with natural selection, relieves the gene pool of any dangerous or extraordinary change, and only allows the subtle, positive changes to take hold.